Diaries of a Heretic
One of the most heretical texts in existence, part of what makes Diaries Of A Heretic 'so unique is it's simplicity. It is not a tome detailing arcane knowledge, that can be used to bring forth demons. It is not a skin wrapped book revealing terrible truths of the world. It is not even the inscribed memories of a Traitor Astartes, detailing his and his brother's fall to Chaos. It is instead the story of an ordinary Imperial Citizen, his capture by Chaos forces, and the unbelievably bizarre and horrifying series of events that follow. History The first recorded discovery of a copy of Diaries Of A Heretic was by an inquisitor sorting though the personal library of a recently defeated Chaos sorcerer. The book stood out to them because, among the cursed tomes of flayed flesh written in virgin blood, it was made of parchment and standard administratum grade ink. As was standard for unknown texts, the inquisitor had a expendable servant read the text, and no adverse effects were had. Deciding the book was not important enough to study further, he placed it within his own collection, included it in his inquisitorial report, and moved on. This scenario repeated numerous times, with the books being found in various places; such as cursed libraries, in the hands of cultists, any place that while connected to chaos, were not totally saturated by it. A connection only began to be made when two Inquisitors were comparing their strangest finds, and found that each had a copy of the book. Although the books were made of different materials, the tale told was the same, and the Inquisitors began to reach out to their fellows to see if they too had found copies. Eventually a group of Ordo Hereticus Inquisitors came together to fully investigate the tale. They have tracked it across time and space, using all resources at their disposal, but have found little. The most important fact they have found is that ''the book is still being written; earliest copies only have twenty chapters, but now some are being found with excess of a hundred chapters. The Author, whoever they are, has written of some events such as the 13th Black Crusade that help date the tale. They also, disturbingly, addressed a message directly to the Inquisitors investigating the book within chapter one hundred and three. Summary The tale begins during the late 41st millennium, on an unnamed Hive World and in an unnamed Hive City. The author describes themselves as a low raking Administratum clerk, unmarried and living alone. Reports and rumours of unrest begin to come from the underhive, but the true extent of the problem is revealed when cultists begin to fight their way up. The Hive City begins to fall apart, even with the arrival of Imperial Guard reinforcements, and the author eventually abandons his job when his office building is bombed. He instead wanderers as close to the fighting as he dares, observing the cultists using warp powers against the Imperial forces, and even summoning lesser Daemons. Finally the author and other civilians are evacuated to a bunker, which is sealed for ten weeks. When the doors finally open, it is by Chaos Space Marines, who claim the civilians as slaves. The Author The author rarely reveals personal information, and most of it comes from within the first few chapters. His name is never given, and after chapter three the author is known by others as "The Scribe". He worked as an Administratum clerk recording traffic in one the levels of the Hive City, and describes the work as "mind numbingly dull." They lived alone in a hab-block apartment, without wife or significant other, and during the cult uprising the hab-block where his parents live is destroyed, although it is unclear even to the author which side was responsible. They have a keen grasp of both language and numbers; it is these skills that earns him his place within the Warband, becoming in charge of making sense of the Warband's hectic finances, and acting as a sort of chronicler for the narcissistic Chaos Lord. Further along the tale the author gain new skills; use of weapons such as las-pistols and knives, maintenance rites for numerous types of equipment, and some limited sorcerous knowledge. There are numerous theories as to how the author has managed to survive so long. One obvious theory is that the tale is false, created as part of some unknown scheme. Another is that, while the author exists, the tale has been altered in some ways, perhaps to display Chaos in a more favorable light. Many doubt this theory, as few examples of this exist within the tale. A common theory is that the author is some kind of creation, created and guided by unknown forces. The lack of social contacts that the author has at the beginning of the book, and the death of his parents before they could appear is used as evidence. It is also possible the beginning of the tale is only implanted memories, although this raises the problem of where the memories become true. Some Inquisitorial agents suggest that the author is, unknown to both himself and most (if not all) around him, a partial Blank. Evidence to this is that the author keeps experiencing serious warp phenomena and surviving, with only minor effect. He once talked to a daemon of change for at least hour of half, and only admitted to a headache from all the riddles posed to him. This would be completely impossible for an normal mortal, and is not the only evidence pointing the Author being a Blank. Extracts A collection of extracts from the Diaries. Quotes '''(Feel free to add your own) Category:Dragonofelder Category:Stories Category:Heretics Category:Chaos